Grandpa?

Little Johnny was visiting his grandpa out on his farm in Kansas for the summer! Johnny was curios about many things! Grandpa how come the sun is red in the morning and evening but not the rest of the day? I do not know son! Why is the grass green and not red? Search me son! Why is the sky blue and not pink? Do not know Johnny! Why do the waves on the ocean come into the shore and then go back out? Not sure Johnny? Grandpa why does the woodpecker peck wood? I think he must like wood? Johnny it is good that you ask all these questions for how else are you going to learn?

Lot Saved By Association! 2 Peter 2:7

Lot although saved by association was also vexed by association with the wicked citizens of Sodom! Lot chose the city and separated from his uncle Abraham. It was a well watered plain and looked good to the natural eye. Lot was wealthy and needed land for his live stock. Sodom was a prosperous city with much opportunity. It was certainly the Babylon of his day! He located his herds next to the big city! Lot knew that Sodom was corrupt with the sin of homosexuality! He tried to separate himself from the sin but played the political correct game! Lot had one foot in the Kingdom of God and one foot in the world! Can you have it both ways? Remember Judas tried that! Lot was attending to his animals in his tent next to Sodom and the next thing we see is he is sitting at the gate of the city! Normally the one sitting at the gate of the city was settling civil cases and collecting taxes! Meanwhile his uncle Abraham went to Canaan which was a dry land. However God promised Abraham all that he could see would be his and his descendants forever! Abraham built an altar there on a mountain and worshiped God! Lot was worshiping money at the city gate of Sodom. Jesus quoted in the Book of John said,”Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day; and he saw it and was glad.” One sacrifice to end all sacrifices! Was Lot on a competition run for wealth with his uncle Abraham? Pride before the fall. God got fed up with the sin of Sodom and sent two destroying angel’s to Sodom! Lot recognized them, worshiped them and invited them to his house! He was trying to protect them from the sin of the city! An attempted cover up! He was trying to preserve his business enterprise! The homosexual’s surrounded his home and wanted sex with the angel’s! Lot even offered his two daughters but it would not appease them! Sin and self-enrichment never mix! Lot tried to warn the city and some of his family members of impending judgment but they just laughed! They did not respect him! Lot had no witness left in him! Christian’s that are just like the world will lose the respect of the world! Even though God saved Lot and his immediate family Lot’s wife still in love with Sodom looked back and became a pillar of salt! The most interesting point of this story is God saved Lot and his two daughter’s because He remembered Abraham! Pray for your children! Your association with Christ could save them! We are saved because of our association with Christ! When God see’s our sin He remembers His Son on the Cross! Lot ended up living in a cave with his two daughter’s! They got him drunk and became pregnant by their father! Lot was the father of the Moabites and Amorites both mortal enemies of Israel! Both tribes were eventually destroyed! Israel live on! Lot never learned his lesson! How many times will God save you from bad decisions? Learn your lessons and study the Bible! Don’t repeat Lot’s mistakes! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

The Strength of Great Wisdom! 1Cor. 1:20-25

Verse 25– “Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” What is Paul talking about here? He is talking about the Cross! This is God’s genius plan! Christ! Born of a virgin? Sinless? Dies on a cruel Cross as a common criminal? Rose from the grave? Conquered death and hell? Seated at the right hand of His Father right now? If you could figure this out it would not be of God! Only the revelation of God through His Holy Spirit can reveal this to you! Spiritual discernment is required not man’s wisdom! Pilot told Jesus I will determine whether you live or die! Jesus told Pilot I lay down my life! Using man’s wisdom you will decide to enslave others! That is what all our wars have been about over history! Using God’s wisdom you will serve others! When you make decisions love people through the Cross! The world’s way is to use power to dominate them! God’s way is to serve men! I traveled down to Central America last week. I know enough Spanish just to get by! The people there encouraged me there to stay there for some time and learn their language! It would probably take me about two years! Why do we hear these messages over and over again every Sunday? Why do we take communion every week? Is it we have nothing else to do? We need to learn the language of God! We need to learn His language! If you are in love with God read His Bible! Study, pray and do the things that please Him! Live righteously! Hate sin! Love God! Love people! Serve others sacrificially! Praise Him! Serve Him! As we come forward for communion this morning let us receive His language of love! Excerpt from message by Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. His entire message may be viewed by going to web site; NewLifeChurch.org

Church In The City (Lesson 3) 1 Corinthians 3: 6-11

Paul wrote this letter to Corinth from Ephesus. By comparison today’s culture in America looks like Disney World compared to Corinth and Ephesus! God raises up a group of people to follow Jesus in a wicked culture. Let His light shine through you in the midst of a dark world. World history boils down to God looking for a group of people to follow Jesus! Do not get missed! The only one to change the world for good is Jesus Christ. The power of God and His Holy Spirit works through people. We need to improve in our relationships with our marriage, parenting, jobs and all other social relationships. Paul reminds us we need to improve! There are two principles involved in the process of improvement. Paul sends a troubleshooter named Apollos to Corinth. Apollos was from Alexandria Egypt. He was a scholar just like Paul. Apollos had bright shiny new ideas! Whether Paul or Apollos God causes things to grow. Man plants and waters but God gives the increase! We are God’s building. Be careful how you build. We are all building. We are either growing or diminishing. Our foundation has to be Jesus Christ. Planting is difficult! God comes to us and puts his spotlight on us. He zeroes in on our issues! Sometimes we feel like we are being picked on! Seems like God is disrupting our plans. Our ground is unfallowed and hard so God plows up our soil of our heart and removes the hardness so something can grow. Planting is done one or two times a year. As we as a church work through our 21 day fast and prayer period God shines His light on us and shows us where the changes are needed. God wants to uproot our unfruitful work. He wants to make the soil of our heart fertile and productive. There is a season to plant then God waters and a harvest comes. Watering is a determined work. God showers us with His Grace. He encourages us and strengthens us with His Mercy! His Mercies are new everyday! God will finish the work He has started in you. His work redeems us. Man’s work is never done but God’s work as Jesus said on the Cross, ” It is Finished!” His light pushes back the darkness. We have seasons of difficulty but God is determined to water us. God gives us a good crop with increase! We need to know which season of life we are in. Ecclesiates Chapter 3 says there is a time for everything! Look for times to speak encouragement to your spouse and you children. Window’s of opportunity come and go. If you think you are going to fix your spouse you are a train wreck waiting to happen! Parenting seasons change as children grow up. There are many voices out there in the world. Love is lacking when you are always laying down the law! Cheer on your family and encourage them. The Bible over 5000 years ago in Deuteronomy Chapter 6 tells us the best time to speak to our children. The two times they are most apt to listen to you are when they wake up and when they prepare for bed. They used to say the Brady’s are good when they sleep. Let your children make all their mistakes at home! Water the work God is doing in their lives. Plant-water, Plant-water, instruct-encourage, instruct-encourage. Know your strengths! Speak the truth in love. Learn to balance. Life is lived between the extremes. Learn from one another. Know the soil of your heart. Be quick to forgive. You cannot give away what you do not have! You will reap what you sow. Forgive and receive forgiveness. Recognize the soil of your heart. People treat other people the way they think God treats them. How does God treat you? Is God mean? Unforgiving? Do you believe God has forgiven you? Forgive others as God has forgiven you. We are not naturally kind. We are self-protective and defensive. But God has changed this for us. Now He has given us forgiveness and love. Know the season, your soil, your strengths and how you are wired. You can impact the world if you allow God to change you. Paul left about 35-50 people in Corinth out of a city of over a million people. It is a long story how I got to New Life Church! Back in 2007 I was ministering in Dallas Texas. God spoke to me that He was moving me! I thought about some churches i would like to go too. Where Lord? When Lord? I had some desires but God had a different idea. God told me I am going to send you to a church that is already planted and you are going to water it. We got to New Life Church in 2007 and 100 days later we had a shooting at our church. Darkness will never overshadow those in Christ! The scripture that most strengthened me is 1 Corinthians Chapter 3. God brought our marriage together and our children and He will bring our Church family together. Since 2007 God has done a miraculous work here at New Life Church reaching to the ends of the earth! God gets the Glory! What God has started He will finish! Get your soil right and God will water you and make you grow! Source; Message given by Pastor Brady Boyd at New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given Sunday January 19, 2014.

Stay Focused!

When i was in grade school back in the 1950″s we attended this small Methodist Church in a little town named Pilger Nebraska. It was Vacation Bible School time and my brother Tommy who was 2 years younger and my cousin Bill who was 2 years older all attended the same VBS class. Cousin Bill spent 2 years in the 3rd grade and he still says it was the best 2 years of his life. It was a hot muggy day in the Nebraska heat and no air conditioning in the church! Our teacher was patient for us and she tried her best to teach us something about the Bible. After our teacher completed the class she asked us what we learned? The county morgue was louder than our response? Suddenly cousin Bill spoke out and said, ” Wow! Look at that big fly on the wall!” Our teacher seemed to move into depression! She kept teaching and lived by Faith and taught her students for many more years! Thankyou. James Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com